Relai Integrates Privacy-Preserving Biometric Authentication to Redefine Bitcoin Wallet Security

Keyless now authenticates Relai users when they log in, recover their account, or delete their wallet. In an industry where privacy is paramount, the integration of Keyless’ noted privacy-preserving technology demonstrates that crypto wallets can leverage biometrics to improve security without losing user trust – crucial in the industry.

With over 500,000 downloads and $1 billion in trading volume, Relai handles thousands of logins, transactions, and account actions daily. The company recently expanded its footprint across Europe, including France, applying for new licenses that required full multi-factor authentication (MFA).

Previously, Relai used a combination of local biometrics (such as FaceID) and SMS OTPs to secure these actions – but neither approach met these more stringent MFA requirements.

• Local biometrics don’t meet MFA criteria as multiple users can register on a single device, and if the biometrics fail, the check falls back to the phone’s PIN number.

• SMS OTP texts are single factor – they only prove device possession. SMS texts are also very vulnerable to SIM-swap attacks and device theft.

Multi-Factor, Privacy-First Authentication

Keyless met Relai’s MFA requirements as its technology authenticates two factors independently of each other:

1. The user’s face – through a passive liveness and face matching check.

2. The user’s device – the device used to authenticate must be the same used to enroll.

Keyless now protects Relai users in three places, with additional use cases planned for the future:

• Login: Users scan their face using their phone camera instead of entering a PIN – taking less than half a second.

• Step-up authentication: For actions like deleting an account, the user’s device and face are checked against those used when setting up the Relai account.

• Account recovery: As an extra factor on top of the existing seed phrase, users can recover their account by scanning their face, for increased security.

Security That Preserves Privacy

Privacy and user control are essential for crypto projects. Keyless was selected in part because its technology uniquely doesn’t store biometric data anywhere, either on the device or the cloud. Known as Zero-Knowledge Biometrics™, biometric templates are instead transformed on the device and stored on the cloud in an unreadable form. They can only be accessed with a key held on the user’s device. Keyless authenticates users by matching the keys, so never sees the user’s biometric data itself. So even if the cloud server is compromised, the data remains unusable – addressing the privacy concerns that are especially sensitive in the crypto space.

Adem Bilican, Co-Founder and CTO at Relai, said: “We chose Keyless because it delivers true multi-factor authentication – independent, secure, and quick. The crypto community expects high privacy standards, but strong authentication doesn’t have to come at the expense of privacy. We’re excited to be one of the first in the crypto space to make privacy-preserving biometrics the default.”

Andrea Carmignani, Co-Founder and CEO at Keyless, added: “We founded Keyless on the belief that biometrics must be private, not just secure. The crypto community shares this value, so we’re incredibly proud to be working with Relai. We hope this partnership sets a new standard for how biometrics, implemented correctly, can better protect crypto wallets.”

As the crypto industry expands and more users turn to self-custody apps, the need for stronger, more user-friendly authentication will only increase. With this integration, Relai is setting a new standard – proving that it’s possible to deliver robust security without compromising on privacy.